Don't Falls: Gravity Falls Don't Starve Crossovers
by papercutcasualty
Summary: A collection of one-to-three-shots in various crossover universes with the fandoms in the title. Rate and Review! Art is by Shalya Fox on Pinterest, you can also find it on Google Images.
1. Chapter 1: The Deal

Three years ago, if one was daring enough to traverse a lonely forest road for miles, one might have found Wilson P. Higgsbury, hiding away in his little house from prying eyes. This journey was required to see the man's face, except for the lucky. The lucky saw him in a small English town a lengthy distance from his home, purchasing the essentials for survival and nothing more. He would always duck his head and walk away quickly as if he didn't want to even try to socialize. One might be offended by this until learning that was just how he acted around everyone. He had a fear of crowds, social gatherings, and people in general, they were told. After that, one might have tried to put him at ease, as many of the townsfolk did. It would have slowly but surely have worked, and he would have diverged from his routine of hiding himself to flash you a small smile, a nod of the head. Three years ago, one would consider him no longer a stranger, but a rather peculiar friend.

But that was three years ago. Now, however, one would have considered him dead, as he had been missing for the past three years. But he wasn't dead. Not at all dead. However, he wished he was dead. If he was dead, he wouldn't have to suffer any longer.

He stifled a sob and gazed off into the blackness of his prison. It was a bleak place, nothing but a few shaded pillars with flames atop, a small stone wall, that accursed gramophone blaring a deceptively cheerful tune, and the "throne" on which he was held captive. There was nothing to see, nothing except the blank eyes of his jailers. They did nothing, just _watched_. Watched him yell, scream, cry, beg. Watched him attempt to stop the flow of knowledge into his brain. Watched him accept his sad, solitary fate as the Puppetmaster, the King. Watched him watch survivors run around, fight off monsters, perish. Watched him create new elements, creatures. Never revealing Themselves, never speaking, never even blinking. He had done so much in this realm. The world below was so different now, so much more deadly. The way Their eyes expressed glee at the survivor's grisly fates showed Their pleasure. He even swore once he had heard clapping over the ragtime after a particularly gruesome death at the hands of one of his more lethal creations, the Dragonfly.

And yet They still wouldn't let him go.

Tears burned at the corners of his eyes and threatened to pour down his face. He shoved them back, because he knew once he started to cry, he would feel the natural impulse to close his eyes. He knew this was a bad idea from the first time he had wanted to get some shut-eye. What had greeted him was simultaneously amazing and terrifying. Normally when you closed your eyes, all that was there was black. In Wilson's case, however, there had been knowledge, white symbols and text against a black backdrop. He had been awed by this at first, his inner scientist coming out of him for the first time in what felt like decades to figure out how this was possible. After a few minutes of this, however, the euphoria faded away. He didn't want this knowledge. It had no use to him, and it was annoying at best, agonizing at worst. But there was nothing he could do, except try to keep his eyes open. His will was weakened, however, and soon the salty droplets began to fall. He accepted his fate and let the sadness carry him away. The knowledge was shoved into his mind, and he just let it happen. He wasn't paying attention to any of it, he … he didn't want to try anymore. Maybe, if he just sat here and did nothing, They would get bored and get rid of him. Even if getting rid of him led to his death. He no longer cared.

Despite his misery, something caught his attention. It didn't look like anything he'd seen before. It seemed like it was some kind of incantation. He ignored it, but unlike the other pieces of information, which faded away over time, this one kept pushing itself into his vision. Perhaps They wanted him to say it? He couldn't think of any other reason. It looked, well, demonic, but he was so desperate, he would try anything.

Slowly, keeping his eyes shut so he wouldn't forget it, he spoke aloud. His voice was so weak and clogged up with tears he had to cough and try again for it to make sense. " _Triangulum, entangulum. Meteforis dominus ventium. Meteforis venetisarium!_ " A sudden pain stabbed into his chest. He tried to stop it by doubling over and twisting around, but it didn't work. His mouth started to move on its own, shouting the words " _Asetnoheptus Asetnoheptus Asetnoheptus Asetnoheptus Asetnoheptus!_ " Before he could wonder what was happening to him, a bright light flashed in his vision, blinding him. His eyes were still shut, so all he could do was squeeze them harder in an effort to shield his eyes.

The first thing he registered was silence. Sweet, sweet silence. He sighed in relief. The second thing was that he wasn't sitting up anymore, he was lying on the ground. No shadows gripped his wrists and ankles. The realization dawned on him slowly. He was, inexplicably, unexplainably, _free_. As it finally hit him, he began to cry tears of joy, curling up into a small ball. He couldn't believe it. That incantation had freed him after all this time. His happiness was interrupted by a loud voice echoing through the space. He sat up, wiping away tears, and confusion washed over him.

He was still in the Nightmare Realm, but the little color there was had faded to a dull gray. The only shift in the color scheme besides himself was a… _thing_ floating about five feet off the ground. It was a yellow triangle with a pyramid pattern on its lower half, its body softly glowing in tune with its voice. It had skinny black arms and legs, and a black top hat accompanied by a small black bow tie. A large, singular eye occasionally blinked. It was shouting at the top of its (probably nonexistent) lungs, swirling around in glee. "OH THANK CHAOS! I THOUGHT I WAS A GONER! WOOPEEE!" It then saw him and flew towards him. He could only gaze at it with perplexement. He couldn't even tell if he should be afraid or not, it was so… weird. "HEY! YOU'RE THE GUY WHO SUMMONED ME RIGHT?" It asked.

"Um… I guess?"

"THANKS BUDDY! IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU, I'D BE STUCK IN THE REMAINS OF A DESTROYED MEMORY FOR ALL OF ETERNITY!"

"Er… What?"

"ANYWAYS, I GUESS I OWE YOU ONE!" It looked around at the surrounding area, swiveling as it did so. "HEY, I REMEMBER THIS PLACE!"

Wilson backed up slightly. "How do you know about this place?" he said, trying to hide his fear with an accusatory statement. By the look in the triangle's eye, he could tell it hadn't worked.

"OH, I KNOW LOTS OF THINGS." It got closer, and its body started flashing a bunch of seemingly random images. **"LOTS OF THINGS."** It said in a dark tone. He squeaked and ducked behind a pillar, clenching his head. "HEY, WHAT'S WRONG? I'M NOT EVEN TRYING TO BE SCARY!"

He started to shiver. "I don't want it…"

It bent its shape to the side slightly, as if to mimic a human cocking their head to the side. "WHAZZAT?"

"The knowledge! Keep it away from me! Please…" He began to rock back and forth, a familiar burning sensation coming between his eyes.

"WOAH THERE! OKAY OKAY, SORRY. DIDN'T REALIZE YOU WERE SO SENSITIVE." It patted him on the head. "YOU'VE BEEN STUCK IN HERE A LONG TIME, HUH?" He glanced up and nodded, sniffling. "NO PROBLEM! I CAN GET YOU OUT."

"Aren't… Aren't we already out?" He gestured towards the gray landscape.

"NAH. THIS IS THE MINDSCAPE, KID! IT'S PRETTY COOL IN HERE, Y'KNOW! HEY, CHECK THIS OUT!" It snapped its fingers and instantly, his filthy, torn clothes were replaced with fresh, clean ones. He gasped. "NICE, HUH? BUT SADLY, THIS ISN'T THE REAL DEAL. IN THE REAL WORLD, YOU'RE STILL STUCK ON THE THRONE. REALITY SUCKS."

"Oh…" He looked at the triangle. "So… Are you real?"

It laughed. "REALITY IS AN ILLUSION, PAL." He winced at the use of the nickname. "BUT BY A HUMAN'S DEFINITION, I'D SAY I'M RELATIVELY REAL. HEY, THAT REMINDS ME! I FORGOT TO PROPERLY INTRODUCE MYSELF!" It levitated high into the air and tipped its hat. "BILL CIPHER, DREAM DEMON, AT YOUR SERVICE!"

"You're a demon?" He retreated into himself more, his grip on his shoulders tightening.

"HEY, DON'T BE SCARED. I'M NICE. ESPECIALLY TO THE GUY WHO SAVED ME FROM OBLIVION! NOW, ABOUT BREAKING YOU OUT." A cane popped into existence and flew into its hands. "HERE'S THE TERMS OF OUR DEAL: I HELP YOU BUST THIS JOINT, BRING YOU BACK TO THE ISLAND, AND IN EXCHANGE, YOU LET ME INHABIT YOUR MORTAL BODY WHENEVER I PLEASE!" Suddenly, its right hand became engulfed in blue fire. "WE GOT A DEAL?"

He stared at its hand. One one hand, this whole "letting it into his body" thing seemed incredibly fishy. He noted that a similar situation had landed him in this mess in the first place. On the other hand, he would be free… "Um… can I have some time to think it over?"

"NOPE. GOTTA ACT NOW. I'M A BUSY GUY, GOT PLACES TO BE. IT'S NOW OR NEVER, KID!" He hesitated. He wanted to take the deal, so badly it hurt, but his logical mindset kept getting in the way, telling him _don't do it this is a terrible idea you can't trust it_. His hand hovered halfway between his body and Bill's hand, not willing to move in either direction. Finally, after what felt like years but was only about 15 seconds, it pulled its hand back. "FINE, SUIT YOURSELF. ENJOY BEING THE KING OF NIGHTMARES FOR ALL ETERNITY!" A bright glow appeared behind the creature as it began to chant. "THE U.S. GOVERNMENT FAKED THE MOON LANDING NONE OF THIS IS CANON BUY GOLD-"

"WAIT!" The glowing light slowly dissipated as it raised its eyebrow at him. "I'll… I'll make a deal with you. Just please don't leave me here."

If the demon had possessed a mouth, it would have been smiling. "GOOD CHOICE." It floated down to his height and stuck out its hand, once again covered in blue flame. Gulping, he raised his hand, gripped the demon's, and shook once. "It's a deal." He said miserably.

"HEY, WHY SO SAD? THIS'LL BE GREAT! THE MINDSCAPE IS AWESOME! YOU CAN DO ANYTHING! AND I ALWAYS ENJOY INHABITING A HUMAN BODY. LIKE RIGHT NOW, FOR INSTANCE!"

The last thing he saw was the demon yanking his hand _out_ of his body somehow, and the last thing he heard was his own scream.

Bill yawned and stretched as well as he could while stuck to the throne. In the corner of the meatsack's vision, "he" (it enjoyed thinking of itself as a male) could see its previous inhabitant, floating in the mindscape, unconscious. The transfer had been too much on his fragile mind. He had passed out instantly. He was still alive, at least. Otherwise, he would be stuck in this dumb body forever. "HEY! GUYS! IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME!"

Suddenly, the Nightmare Realm came alive with ghostly whispers and snickering. In a collective voice that sounded like Satan himself, They addressed him. **"BiLL CIPheR. wE SEE THaT yoUR WOrLD DoMInaTIOn pLAN DiDN't gO So WEll."** More snickering. He laughed along with Them, even though he was still pissed off about it.

"HEY NOW, CAN'T YOU SEE I'M ALREADY ON MY WAY BACK?" He smirked, showing off his current physical form. "NOW. ISN'T IT ABOUT TIME YOU LET ME OUT OF HERE?"

" **We DO OwE YOu A FavOR, CIPheR. oH wELL. ThAT WAs** _ **sUcH**_ **A FUn OnE TO BReAk. tOO bAd We DIdN'T HAvE A HoStaGE LikE LAsT TiMe!"** They engaged in a sadistic bout of laughter, and Bill joined in, so that the space rang with the sound of their cruelty. The shadows uncurled from his arms and legs, and he stood up.

"OH, COME ON! DUMB MEATSACK IS REALLY HARD TO MOVE… C'MON NOW… WHOA THERE! HAHA!" He was stumbling around, the vessel weak from lack of motion. He giggled maniacally. "OH, THE PINES FAMILY ACTUALLY THINK THEY GOT RID OF ME! BILL CIPHER! WELL, HAVE I GOT A SURPRISE FOR THEM! HAHAHAHA!" He looked in the general direction of Them. "Y'KNOW, YOU COULD ALWAYS JOIN ME. I'D VALUE YOUR SERVICE. AND BESIDES, THAT DUMB BABY'S FORCES WILL FIND YOU ONE DAY. CAN YOU HANDLE THEM?"

" **WE CaN tAKE THem. yOU KILLeD TiME BAbY DurING YoUR BRIEf REIgN, dIDN't YoU?"** He nodded in conformation. **"it sHOuLDn'T BE ToO HarD tO FEnD OfF ANy TImE PoLIcE THeN. wE ARen'T aS INtO WorLD DOMinAtION As YoU, sO We'LL JUsT STaY HEre. cOngRATuLATioNs On A CLeaN KiLL, by ThE WAy."**

'Wilson' grinned. "THANKS! WELL, I'D BETTER BE HEADING OFF NOW."

" **wE CouLD JuST RETurN YOur PUPpeT To thE EArTH DimENSIoN... MaKE YOuR DoMInATIon QUIckER."**

"NAH. IT'S FUNNER THIS WAY."

" **WE'rE glAD We AgrEE ON SOmEThiNG."**

A swirling black and white portal opened beneath him, and he slowly dropped into the puppet's world. "BUY GOLD BYYYE!" As he descended, he snickered evilly, and left the body, pushing Wilson's sleeping spirit into it. It fell on the soft grass, making a small _thump_. He groaned and rolled over in his sleep. Good. If he could exit the mindscape so easily, then that meant he was already recovering. Bill rubbed his hands together, then entered his mind. He hadn't been careful enough when he had entered Stanley's mind. If he wanted to avoid detection, he'd have to stop himself from manipulating the mindscape in Wilson's brain. He sighed and twirled around. It was so fun messing with someone's mind, but he wanted to go unnoticed for now. Give him a good scare later. Besides, he wasn't done with this puppet quite yet.

He chuckled softly. He'd only been revived for a few hours, and already the pieces were falling into place. At this rate, Weirdmageddon 2.0 would be upon the universe in no time. By the time Time Baby came back, there would be nothing to take back.

 _Beware, Pines family. I'm coming..._

 **Another crossover, yay! So this is just a collab of crossover AUs with Gravity Falls and Don't Starve. They will only be three-shots at most, so it's not a full story. If you want to make any of these a full story, though, feel free! Just please message me first.**


	2. Chapter 2: It's Gonna Be Okay

**Hello again!**

 **So, I realized that I should explain my crossover AU before I write a story about it, lol. So, last chapter was a. if Bill and They were friends, and b. after Bill's death. This one is if Wilson fell through the portal opened by Charlie in the New Reign trailer, and was dropped in Gravity Falls in 2013 (the next summer for Dip and Mab).**

 _Two ducks were facing each other in a warehouse. One had a black goatee, oddly enough. The other had a detective hat on. The one with the goatee began to quack, subtitles appearing beneath him as he 'spoke'. "So. This is how it all goes down, twin brother."_

" _I don't care that we're brothers! I will defeat you!"_

 _The evil-looking duck suddenly sighed. "I wouldn't expect any less from the greatest detective in Britain. Not after all I've done. I guess I deserve it. After what I did to my sweet, sweet Caroline…"_

 _Ducktective shifted around awkwardly. He knew the story. His brother had once had a magic show, and had hired a beautiful duck assistant. But it all went wrong, and now, she was long gone. He felt sorry for his loss, but he had to take his manic brother down, no matter what. He got into a fighting stance. "To the death!"_

 _His brother nodded. "To the death."_

 _They rushed at each other, and just as they were about to exchange blows, an evil laugh rang out. They both turned to see a duck with a flower on her head, sitting on a chair. His brother gasped. "Caroline! It's you! I thought you were dead! Why did you never come to see me?"_

 _She scowled. "Why would I ever want to see you again, Martin? You arrogant fool!" She pulled out a gun. "Now die!"_

The 8 o'clock season 2 finale ended right there. Mabel dropped the popcorn bag that she had been gripping in anticipation. "Wow… What a twist! I would have never guessed Caroline would come back!" She turned to Dipper. "Poor Martin, huh? And to think, I thought that he was the bad guy! But it turned out to be a whole bunch of mysterious bad guys, who were actually there all along!" She fell backwards, a hand over her heart. "My heart! It can't take all the plot twists!"

Dipper shrugged. "Meh. I do like what they've done with Martin, I do. He's become much more realistic over the course of the plotline. It's just, I don't think anyone takes him seriously anymore. I mean, he did try to kill Ducktective. Plus, he burned down that orphanage. And yet, it feels like everyone's forgotten how awful of a person he can be."

Mabel sat back up. "True, true. But he's just so sad! Aaugh! And Caroline and Martin are soooo cute together!" She paused to giggle. "I ship them so hard." she whispered.

Dipper rolled his eyes at his fangirling sister and looked up at their guest, who was sitting in the easy chair. "What do you think, Wilson?"

The older man simply shook his head, smiling. "I think that of the many things exclusive to your time period, this is the most peculiar." He tilted his head to the side. "But come to think of it, wasn't Ducktective shot in season 1? My field of science isn't medical, but you'd think he wouldn't be able to move around that fast after being shot in the duck heart." He tapped his fingers on the armrest, pondering.

Mabel squealed. "I knew it! You love Ducktective! Yay! Now I can tell you all of my theories, and headcanons, and AUs, and ships, and come here, you goof!" She leaped up and tackled him with a hug. He jumped in surprise, then hugged her back, laughing. Dipper smiled.

They had found Wilson a couple weeks after coming back to Gravity Falls for the summer of 2013. They had gone to play in the woods and they had run into him (literally). He was being chased by a gang of aggressive gnomes. They had fled the forest and run to the Shack. The leafblower had been as effective as last time, shooting gnomes out of it like a cannon. Back then, he had slow to trust them. His reasoning was that he hadn't seen humans in years, and he believed it to be a trick by a group of someones, though he wouldn't say who, even now. Eventually, after a lot of coaxing him inside and even more of trying to convince the grunkles (who were home for the summer), he was allowed to stay. After a few days, he began to explain how he came to be here, with some help from Great Uncle Ford, who knew a lot about time paradoxes. He had been abducted from very far back in the past and brought to an alternate dimension where time passed much faster than on Earth. He had been forced to survive in the wilderness for years of his life. He described his experience in detail until a certain point, when he had flipped a fifth switch on a 'door' on the fifth level on what he called 'Adventure Mode'. He had suddenly frozen up and tucked his knees in, signs that he definitely did not want to talk about whatever had happened after that. Nobody had pushed him to continue, and slowly, he began to open up to them. Now that he understood modern society a bit more (and now that he didn't stink to high heaven), he was just staying at the Shack until he could find a job. Currently, the twins and Wilson were watching TV while Soos and Melody had a date night, Soos' abuelita watched them on their date, and the grunkles shopped.

Dipper stood up. "I'm going to get some drinks for us real quick. Be right back." He strolled to the kitchen, and had just opened the fridge when the power went out.

He groaned, closed the no-longer-operational fridge, and began to rummage through a drawer for a flashlight. Finding two, he flicked one one and put the other in his pocket. He aimed the beam of light towards the living room, making sure to be careful where he stepped, in case he tripped over a floorboard and injured himself. "Mabel? Wilson? You okay?"

Mabel's voice echoed out of the darkness. "I'm fine… But… Just come here, quick." She sounded more than a little worried. He slowly made his way through the Shack, tiptoeing on the old wooden floors, keeping a hand to the wall. Suddenly, he felt his foot hit something and gravity pulling him down, as if in slow motion. He yelped as he hit the floor. "Dipper!? Are you okay?"

He moaned, coming into a sitting position as he rubbed his aching body. "I tripped. I'm okay, though, don't worry." Standing up, he held his throbbing elbow, which had taken a blow to the funny bone, and continued his journey towards the living room, making sure to look where he was going this time. As he aimed the beam of light towards the living area, he was greeted by an unexpected sight.

Mabel was sitting on the armrest, her hand on the top of Wilson's head. The man was curled up into a tight ball, and he could see him shaking. "I don't know what happened. He just got really upset when the power shut off." She turned towards Dipper and gulped. "He keeps asking someone not to hurt him. That he'll do whatever they want, whoever they are."

Dipper's stomach clenched. "Okay… I'll call our grunkles. They'll know what to do. Yeah…" He handed Mabel the flashlight in his pocket. "Try and calm him down, okay?" She nodded. He walked back to the kitchen and picked up the phone, using a word that he most certainly would not be allowed to use back home when he realized that the power had shut off the phone. There had to be another way to contact them, he thought. Then, it came to him. Neither he nor Mabel owned a cell phone, but maybe someone in the house did and they had left it lying around. Invigorated by his idea, he began to search the kitchen, the dining room, the bedrooms, any place where someone might have left their cell phone. He found nothing. He rubbed his eyes. He was getting sleepy, and on top of that, he was stressed. He went downstairs and into the gift shop. He opened the door and looked outside into the blackness. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know the way to the grocery store, and it would be even harder to find it at night. Besides, they had said they would be home soon.

He sighed and closed the door. He was about to head back into the living room when he saw a bright light that hadn't been there before, on the counter. He looked over to see an ePhone next to the cash register. It was Wendy's! She must have left it after her shift. He quickly grabbed it, ignoring all of Wendy's texts, and dialed Grunkle Stan's number. The dial tone rang through the space, making him that much more anxious. The second it was picked up, he held it to his ear and began to tell him what had happened. "Whoa, whoa there kid! Slow down. What's goin' on?"

He took a deep breath and started again. "The power went out in the house, and I think Wilson's having a panic attack. Mabel's with him right now, but…"

Grunkle Stan swore. "I told Ford that we shouldn't have left that stupid drifter alone with you kids… Whatever. He'll be out of my hair soon."

A sense of foreboding creeped into his consciousness. "You're not going to kick him out, are you!?" His grunkle was kind to his family and few friends, but he could be downright cruel when he wanted to be. He wouldn't put it past him to shove Wilson out the door.

He sighed. "Nah. As much as I want to, I don't know how your sister would react. If she refused to talk to me over a pig, I don't want to think about how bad it would be with a human being." He scoffed. "Even if that human being smells like death."

He heard some shuffling sounds, and then Ford's voice was coming out of the phone, probably from being next to the receiver. "Now, be nice, Stanley. It's not his fault he was stranded in the wilderness for who knows how long."

"Whatever, Pointdexter. Alright kid, hang tight. We're coming home right now. Should be about 20-ish minutes. I'm sure you can take care of yourselves that long." He hung up. Dipper turned off the phone and put it back on the counter. While his anxiety wasn't cured, it was starting to simmer down. They would be here soon. They'd know what to do.

He went back over into the living room, taking extra precautions to see that he didn't trip again. The two of them were still in the same spots, although Waddles had wandered in at some point and was sitting in front of the tv. Mabel diverted her gaze from the man to him. "What's the news, bro-bro?" Despite her use of the nickname, she sounded sad. Mabel hated it when other people were upset.

"They're coming back right now. They'll be home in about 20 minutes." He sat down on the other armrest, putting an arm over the man. Now that he was closer, he could hear soft crying, barely louder than the sound of him breathing. But it was there.

Mabel stared for a while before her face lit up. "I'll be right back." She grabbed a flashlight and, before he could say anything, ran off. He could hear her steps thundering through the house and up the stairs. He shoved down worries about her falling and waited. The seconds ticked by with agonizing slowness. What if she fell and hurt herself? How would he find her? He couldn't leave Wilson alone right now, but he couldn't leave Mabel injured in a power outage! What would he do? What would he-

His anxious thoughts were interrupted by Mabel rushing in with a flashlight, a blanket, and something else beneath her arm. He let out a sigh of relief. She shook her head in exasperation. "Don't worry so much, Dip-dop. It's fine." She set down the object, which he realized was her disco ball toy.

"Don't you have to plug that in?" He questioned.

"Nah. BY THE POWER OF MABEL!" She cried as she flicked the on switch. Round, multicolored lights filled the room, slowly rotating in time with the music. She chuckled. "And batteries." She tapped Wilson on the shoulder. "Hey, we got lights. C'mon, where's that funny guy we all know and love?" Her face fell when he didn't move. Letting out a disappointed sigh, she went over to her pig and tickled him on the stomach. He squealed happily and twisted around. She smiled slightly. Picking up the bundle of pork, she began to dance, waving his arms for him in time to the music. Dipper rose and sat down next to the man, rubbing his back. However, a happy cry quickly drew his attention to his sister. Mabel was jumping up and around with the animal, laughing. She seemed to have forgotten about the problem at hand. One-and-a-half months from 14 years around her, and he still didn't understand how she did that. He couldn't comprehend how it was so easy for her to lock away her worries for so long.

He felt a shift next to him. Turning, he saw that he had raised his head a tiny bit, so that just his eyes were visible. They were red at the rims. Dipper fetched the abandoned blanket and tucked it around his body. He sat down again and just watched his twin. Both of them were mesmerized by her energy. Only after a few minutes of this did she notice she had an audience. Out of the blue, she ran over, pig still in her arms, and tackled the two of them. He heard a yelp and mentally prepared for the worst. He didn't know much about panic attacks or whatever Wilson was going through, but he knew that charging at the victim was a terrible idea. When he recovered, though, he was met with a different type of scene than he had imagined. Mabel had her arms wrapped around his neck and her head against his chest. He was sharply leaning back in surprise, but a small smile soon decorated his face. Dipper let out yet another sigh of relief, and then a yawn. Boy, was he tired. He snuggled down next to them, Waddles collapsing on his lap. As he drifted off, he felt a comforting arm pull him in tight, and he barely heard a small "thank you".

... 

He slammed the car door as he got out. Grumbling, he went over to the trunk and grabbed a few bags. His twin brother stared at him. "Stanley, I don't understand why you're so upset about this."

He glared at him. "Because those kids got enough stress last summer, during _the apocalypse_. They don't need this." He hadn't gotten all of his memories back, not by a long shot, but he had figured out what had happened those last few weeks from both his own fragments of remembrance and the townspeople. At least those idiots were good for something.

Ford pursed his lips, but said nothing. He took the rest of the bags into his arms and walked towards the door of the Shack. He followed behind, which might have been a good thing, because in his current mood, he probably would have kicked it open. Dumping the bags on the kitchen table, he stormed into the living room without even grabbing a flashlight. He had lived here so long, he knew his way around the place. "Alright, listen up, you little punk-" He stopped. The yellow and orange chair that he usually sat in was currently occupied by the one he was about to yell at, the niblings, and that dumb pig, all fast asleep. Dipper and Mabel's heads rested on each shoulder, Mabel's mouth wide open. Dipper had the pig draped across his lap, and the man had his arms wrapped around the twins. The room was dimly lit by one of Mabel's silly toys, casting a peaceful light on their faces. He openly gaped at the scene, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Ford was standing next to him, flashlight in hand and a sarcastic smile on his face. "And you were saying? Something about stress?"

He punched him lightly in the arm. "Oh, shut up, Pointdexter." He was about to continue, but he was interrupted by a small groan.

Mabel was stirring. She opened her big eyes slightly, just enough to see them. "Oh hi… When'd you get home…" He rubbed her hair, and she giggled softly.

"Love you, kid…"

She smiled. "Love you too…" With that, she fell asleep again. He turned to see Ford's smile turned genuine. He stretched.

"Well, seems like I've been kicked out of my chair. I'm going to bed. See ya, bro."

"Goodnight, Stanley…"

He went upstairs to his room, Ford down to his room/lab in the basement. He changed into pajamas and lied down. Staring out the window at the dark summer sky, he began to relax.

 _Maybe I'll let him stay for just a little bit longer… The niblings sure seem to like him..._

 **ADMIT IT STAN, YOU LOVE HIM**

 **I had so much fun with that Ducktective scene. Sorry Maxwell and Charlie, I kinda made fools of you.**


End file.
